The Hospitality and Tourism Industry has a very big contribution to the Philippine Economy from the past years up until the present. The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported that tourism’s contribution to the country’s GDP grew from 12.3% in 2018 to 12.7% in 2019. The Hospitality and Tourism Industry is a very broad and wide industry. Sub-industries that make up the whole Hospitality and Tourism industry are as follows: Food and Beverage, Travel and Tourism, Lodging, and Recreation. The number of persons employed in the tourism industry in the Philippines for the year 2018 amounted to approximately 41.2 million and was expected to increase in the following years. Fast forward to 2020, the COVID-19 unexpectedly changed the perspective and direction of the industry. As one of the biggest contributors of the country’s economy, the Hospitality and Tourism Industry is one of the most affected industries in this pandemic mainly due to travel restrictions and low demand due to current health and safety protocols enforced by the government. A survey conducted by Jobstreet.com showed that the industry also took a hard hit in terms of retrenchment especially for employees aged 18-24 years old. Many of whom resorted to other means of income just to put food on the table, even working as a delivery rider, but for those who prefer to stay safe at home, the online gig economy may provide relief or even a sustainable source of income for the long term or at least until Covid-19 is no longer a threat.

The Global Shapers Cebu believes that there are still opportunities for the displaced workers in the Hospitality and Tourism Industry. The hub intended to link these displaced workers to opportunities, specifically in online freelancing. Due to COVID-19, many companies were forced to transition to a Work-from-Home (WFH) set-up and were open to accepting freelancers due to downsizing. According to WEF, freelancing offers agility to companies that must adapt to unexpected challenges and provides freedom to workers who want flexible and remote work arrangements. Embracing this shift positions all parties to succeed in the future of work, no matter where or when that happens. With this, there were more windows of opportunities for current and prospective online freelancers. It was also mentioned that Philippines placed sixth in the world as the fastest-growing market for the gig industry, revealing a 35 percent growth in freelance earnings according to the 2019 report by Payoneer on the ‘Global Gig Economy Index. The Cebu Hub hoped to assist in finding income sources and lifting the financial worries of these young displaced workers by steering and equipping them with basic knowledge in the online freelancing industry and help them navigate and find online opportunities that will fill their skillset.

CEBootcamp 2021 aimed to steer and equip the displaced workers in the Hospitality and Tourism Industry, specifically aged 18-24 years old, to job opportunities through online freelancing. After going through the program, they were expected to have a source of income and encourage others to find relief in the online freelancing industry. They would also be familiar on the kind of work and categories in the online freelancing industry which are the following:

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  Free Agents (30%) - for whom the platform economy is their primary income and who are working in it by choice
  


• 
  Casual Earners (40%) - who are supplementing their main income with work in the platform economy by choice
  


• 
  Provisionals (14%) - for whom the platform economy provides their primary income, but who would prefer a traditional job
  


• 
  Financially strapped (16%) - who are supplementing their main income with work in the platform economy in order to make ends meet, but who would prefer not to have to
  

The courses of the programme included:

1. Two (2) public webinars facilitated by industry experts that we shared via Facebook Live (attendee stats here)


2. Two (2) exclusive webinars facilitated by an external partner (World Dream School), attendees were the ten (10) CEBootcamp scholars